A Day at the Movies: Justice League Gods and Monsters

Ah DC animation. While this series of movies may be direct to video, they have consistently been praised for their impressive animation, strong storylines, and interesting directions that they take their iconic characters in. But recently, I haven't been impressed with their movies. In my opinion, the DC animated films have taken a severe nosedive in quality starting with "Justice League War". The Batman films they released later (with the exception of Assault on Arkham) weren't any better and they really disappointed me with the turd known as "Throne of Atlantis" (or as I like to call it, "The Lion King Underwater"). So is Gods and Monsters another dud from DC, or has Bruce Timm delivered yet again? Let's find out.

The Story

In a parallel universe, the Justice League only consists of the Trinity (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman). However, this Trinity is a hell of a lot different from the Trinity we're used to seeing. Unlike the mainstream Justice League, this one is actually despised by the public due to their brutal and murderous ways of dealing with criminals. Unsurprisingly, the league is pretty pissed by their reception but things take a turn for the worse when robots that share their abilities come from another world and start framing them for heinous crimes. Now it's up to the league to save the world and their reputations. 

As many DC fans might already know, DC has been going in a somewhat darker direction with their media (most likely to differentiate themselves from Marvel), and fans have been less than welcoming to the whole "Dark and Gritty" direction but here the dark tone actually works because of the kind of world that we're presented with. But the most surprising thing about the story of Gods and Monsters is even with all the grit thrown our way, the movie still manages to have the golden feeling of hope that DC is well known for.

That and even while the film progresses, the story does take some time to explain the origins of the Trinity. But amazingly enough, the origin stories don't break the flow of the story one bit and it actually managed to blend in quite well with the current events. However there is one part of the plot (that I won't spoil) that I thought was rather lack luster, but thankfully the good points of the story greatly outweigh the one bad part. Overall, the story of Gods and Monsters is incredible and it just shows that Bruce Timm has not lost a bit of his edge over the years.

The Animation

Ah the animation, what can I say? It's that classic DCAU animation that I've loved ever since I was a small boy. However thanks to technology evolving over the years the animation looks more phenomenal than ever. The action scenes in this movie are extremely well done and there are some moments where CGI is used and it just makes the hand drawn parts look even better. There's not much to say about the animation other than its nothing less than stellar.

The Characters 

Now here's where things get juicy. The characters, as one would expect are reimagined, darker versions of the DC trinity we know and love. 

First we have Superman, who in this world in the son of General Zod and was raised by Mexican immigrants. This version of Supes, much like his old man is kind of an arrogant prick and he's much more brutal with his powers. However, as the film goes on we see a more sympathetic side to him as while he's trying to deal with the mess of him and the rest of the trinity being framed, he's also hell bent on finding out the secrets of his past. That and he also starts being more heroic as time passes.

Next we have Wonder Woman. In this universe, she's not a princess from Themyscira. Instead, she's a goddess from New Genesis named Bekka who came to earth after a tragedy in her home world that I dare not spoil. Like superman, this Wonder Woman is more aggressive and unhinged than her mainstream counterpart, that and she's also fairly sexually liberated as well. However, she's shown to be the nicest of the trio as she isn't as cynical as Superman nor as violent as Batman.  Heck in one scene, she even calls out Superman for considering pulling an Injustice!

And finally we have Batman. What's interesting about this version of the Dark Knight is that instead of being a billionaire playboy that knows martial arts (and tons of gadgets at his disposal), the batman in this universe is none other that Kirk Langstrom, a.k.a Man-Bat (in the mainstream universe at least). Batman is definitely the most violent of the Trinity, as he constantly needs to feed on blood in order to survive. Although, thankfully he only feeds on the blood of criminals. Unfortunately, that's all the positive stuff I have to say about this characters because in my honest opinion, he's definitely not as interesting as Superman or Wonder Woman. And this is a pretty serious flaw considering that Batman has personal connection to the films villain.

Oh and speaking of the villain, I won't spoil who he is, but he is disappointingly weak. Both in terms of overall characterization and his motivation. Seriously, most of the freaking Disney villains had a better motivation for being evil than him. And that's saying something.

There are also pretty cool twists on various characters in the DCU throughout the film from Amanda Wller being the president to Lex Luthor being up in space discovering the secrets to the universe. 

In conclusion, aside from a weak villain the characters are really a good piece of work in this movie.

Conclusion

Damn. I mean damn. While DC's recent animated efforts have been let downs, here comes Bruce to make everything right once more. While "Gods and Monsters" may not be perfect, it sure comes close with its engaging plot, stellar animation and cool characters. Mr. Timm, it's good to have you back on board. And you can bet I'm gonna be there for your take on the classic known as "The Killing Joke"!

Overall Rating: 9.0/10